First Year Housing

First Year Experience

FYE is a program that helps traditional first-year students transition to an urban campus, find academic support, and develop a home on the PSU campus. The community is supported by student staff and professionals who understand the needs of the first-year students and create communities that help students find social connections, enjoy Portland and campus communities and develop a healthy lifestyle.

All first year students live in a FYE community and will select from the options below. The majority of first year students live in Broadway and Ondine. Students accepted to the honors program have the option to also live in Stephen Epler.

Still not sure if living on campus is right for you, don't take our word for it, come and check it out!

Freshman Inquiry

University Housing & Residence Life has teamed up with University Studies to offer a unique living experience. We offer five of the most popular freshman inquiry courses chosen by freshmen each year as a living learning community. These communities are paired with an academic faculty member and also includes a Learning Community Assistant who attends class and serves as in-hall academic support for students in the community. Freshmen Inquiry is a PSU general education requirement.

Portland

This community is located in Ondine. In this course, the complex relationship between people and the places in which we live, recreate and work will be explored. We will specifically focus on Portland places: its place as a context for human development and cultural expression; its place as an urban area of diverse communities; its place within the natural, material, and social environment of the Pacific Northwest. We will discuss what connects people to their place(s) as well as what makes their place(s) part of their social, cultural, spiritual, economic and political life.

Race & Social Justice

Race and social justice is located in Ondine and is linked to a course taught by Alma M.O. Trinidad. The course focuses on exploring social and cultural awareness and understanding, engaging in social and cultural dialogue, and student development as well-rounded, informed citizens of a global community.

Work of Art

Work of Art is located in Broadway and is linked to a course taught by Sarah Wolf Newlands. The course explores the function art serves in our lives. The course pairs with the Portland Art Museum and works in the Portland State Community Garden to better understand the ways that art impacts our daily lives.

Health, Happiness & Human Rights

Health, Happiness & Human Rights is located in Ondine and is linked to a brand new University Studies course! The course examines the nature and state of healthy individuals and populations in their various environments. Specific emphasis will be given to social determinants of health and the intersections between health, communities, and human rights.

Sustainability

Sustainability is located in Broadway and is linked to a course taught by J.R. Estes. The course focuses on exploring the possibilities in maintaining a sustainable relationship between human communities and the natural world.

Urban Honors

The Urban Honors community is located in Epler and provides students admitted to the Honors program with the opportunity to live in a dynamic community with other high achieving and highly motivated students. As part of the Urban Honors hall, students can participate in the life of the city and also experience the benefits of a small learning community. For more information including requirements, application process, and important dates please visit Urban Honors.

Design & Society

Design & Society is located in Ondine. Designers influence the creation of products, images, infrastructure and environments surrounding us, both virtual and real. Designers engage with the problems facing their communities, and act to solve them by developing creative and innovative solutions. Using design as our focus, we explore individual responsibilities toward society: How can we act to bridge the gap between design and ecological sustainability? How can individuals acting locally compete within the global economy?

Theme Communities

Themed communities are designed to bring together residents with similar interests. There is no Freshman Inquiry course associated with these communities, though most freshman will be taking a Freshman Inquiry course. For Freshmen Inquiry course offerings, visit University Studies.

Viking

Viking floors are located in Broadway and Ondine and are for first year students who have a variety of interests and want to experience the breadth of what PSU and Portland have to offer.

STEM

The STEM community is in Broadway and gives residents the opportunity to build a community focused on fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.